Good Things Come in Small Packages
by Dreamsand Caster 2
Summary: Will most likely be a group of oneshots :D Dié is the daughter of Junjie and Shifu. Her life isn't exactly what you would call normal. I own Dié :3 Rated for safety...it's probably more of a K plus...but hey.:) Inspired by Timbit the Lynx Angel's Heart of the Golden Lotus :3
1. Of Nightmares, Monsters, and Storms

Oneshot 1- Nightmares, Monsters, and Storms.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda...**

**Warning: Contains ShifuxJunjie and Mpreg references. If you don't like it, please click the back button on the top left corner of your screen. Thank you.**

**Dié: Aged 3**

Dié cowered in fear, pulling her covers over her head as the storm raged outside. The wind howled, rain pelting against her window and making a loud pattering that resembled footsteps. The lightning flashed, illuminating the entire valley like a gigantic candle. Thunder rolled and crashed across the sky. Stars dotted the ebony canvas, but they seemed to have dulled, no longer winking. The moon was invisible.

She whimpered, peeking out from under her shield of blankets and seeing the shadows lurk and creep along the walls. The talons of a tree knocked against her window, asking for entry. The kit mewled unhappily, burying her head into her pillow as her ears flattened against her head, and her tiny body trembled in fear. She pulled the covers over head head again, making an attempt to ignore the angry weather and fall asleep.

And when she did manage to drift off, after a few hours, the sleep was fitful, and clouded with the eeiry darkness that terrorized dreams.

Nightmares.

She woke with a startle, her fiery-coloured eyes wide and terrified. Her throat seemed to have closed over, and she choked on her own breath. She couldn't scream if she wanted to. Dié jumped as the lightening shot through the sky and lit up her room, making the shadows more prominent.

Silent sobs racked her body, tears streaming down her face, and she cuddled into the stuffed leopard she had recieved as a gift from Tai Lung. She didn't want to wake her parents, or Po, or Tai Lung. But she had to get out of her room.

The floorboards creaked, even under her light weight, so she crept across the room as quietly as she could, and stretched up to turn the door knob.

She wasn't tall enough to reach the handle, so she improvised, and pushed a chair up to the wall and clambered on top of it. She stood up, balancing perfectly, and sucessfully opened the door, poking her head around the corner. Seeing no one was there, she discarded the chair to the side, tiptoeing through the barracks and out into the main part of the palace, which involved going out into the storm.

Dié paused at the door, unsure of whether to go outside or not. It was either face the elements, or face the monster she was convinced was hiding in her wardrobe.

She tried the door. Locked.

Her eyes roamed the floor, and she stopped, before lifting up one of the floorboards to reveal a small key. She used it to unlock the door, and slipped it inside the breast pocket of her nightgown. Bracing herself, she opened the door, stepping out and closing it abruptly behind her. The wind had died down a bit, thankfully, but the air was bitter and the rain had only grown stronger. It assailed her, soaking her to the bone. She shivered, but persevered, making a sprint for the other door a couple of metres away.

She grabbed the handle of the door, pulling and pushing on it, to no avail. She squinted against the rain, the darkness, and the fog, her eyes glowing in the dull night.

She fumbled for the key in her pocket, but as soon as she hauled it free in triumph, it fell into the muddy earth. She immediately got to her knees, now cold, damp, and dirty, and started searching.

By the time she found it, the wind had picked up again, and it nipped at her wet fur and skin. She promptly got to her feet, jamming the key in the lock and twisting it. She opened the door, and struggled to close it after her. She eventually was able to slam it closed just as soon as thundered roared above her head. She squeaked, clutching her teddy to her chest. She had decided she couldn't leave him to get eaten by the monster, and he too was now damp, but nowhere near as muddy as Dié herself.

She scurried to the kitchen, which was to the back of the palace, and when she arrived, immediately started to work.

When she had finished, a fortress stood proudly in the centre of the kitchen. Po had taught her how to build one, and the two had often spent many hours laughing and playing there, until Po was sternly told to return to his training.

She wasted no time in ducking under it, dragging a tea towel and her leopard, who was named Kun, with her. She neatly placed the towel on the floor and lay on top of it, curling her tail up around her body and wrapping her arms around Kun. The thunder and lightning occured in unison, and she whimpered, a tear trickling down her face once again.

It was going to be a long night.

Po shook his head, sending drops of water flicking in all directions.

"It is WET out there!" he mumbled to himself, shivering slightly, then shrugging, and continuing his trek to the kitchen.

The panda had been confused when he had reached the exit of the barracks, as he found the key gone and the door unlocked. But he was hungry, so he decided not to question it.

When he entered, he glanced at the table, then did a double-take.

"I thought we tidied this up earlier...?" The panda approached the fortress, slowly, then lifted up the table cloth that had been tossed over it, only to reveal Dié, who was quietly crying to herself.

"Dié!" he exclaimed, alarmed, and immediately began to dismantle the front of the hideout so he could get to her.

"Po?" The cub sniffled, looking up at him with bloodshot eyes. Po had successfully cleared a path, and now hurriedly lifted her up and into his arms.

"Oh my gods Dié, you're freezing!" Even to him, who had also ventured through the storm, the small child was extremely cold.

"Po, you have to go back to your room! T-there's a m-monster in the p-palace!" she whispered, her ears flattening as she shivered.

"A monster?" She nodded, and as the lightning struck again, she squealed and burried her head into his chest, quivering. He wrapped his arms around her, hushing her.

"Are you scared of the storm, Dee?" She shook her head uncertainly, then nodded as the storm snarled outside, softly starting to sob again. Po cooed, cradling her in his arms.

"Shh, it's okay...Nothing's going to hurt you...Come on, let's go and see your mummy and daddy."

"I d-don't wanna w-wake them P-Po-"

"Dié, your parents love you, and they'll want to help you. But first, we need to get you cleaned up a bit..." He picked up the tea towel, and started hastily wiping her down and cleaning most of the mud out of her fur and clothes. He headed for the door with Dié still in his arms, but she stopped him.

"We can't leave Kun in here all by himself!" Po turned, and saw the leopard lying at the entrance to the destroyed fortress.

"Oh, sorry Kun." He bent down, and Dié lifted her teddy off the ground, mimicking the position she was in with Po.

They headed for the door that lead outside to the barracks, and the panda paused.

"Was it you that took the key for the doors?" The vixen nodded somewhat sheepishly.

"Smart kid," he said to himself, quite impressed, before he opened the door. The wind blew at them with force, as though attempting to knock Po off his feet. He sighed, and trudged across the mud to the barracks, trying to keep Dié sheltered at the same time.

When they eventually got inside and closed the door, both were sopping wet, but clean, and Dié was whimpering again.

He began humming lightly to her, but even he yelped when the thunder growled suddenly.

Deciding she better get to her parents quickly, Po headed straight for Shifu and Junjie's room, which was furthur on down the hall. He sneaked down the corridor, Dié still shivering and in his arms, and reluctantly rapped on the paper door.

A groan emmited from behind it. Pattering feet were heard, and then Shifu answered, looking extremely unimpressed.

"Panda! What is the meaning of-" The red panda took one look at his daughter crying in Po's arms, and his irritated expression immediately morphed into one that could only be fitted to a worried parent.

He held out his arms for her, and Po obliged, watching him stroke his daughter's hair and whisper to her. He couldn't help but notice that everytime lightning struck or thunder sounded, his master seemed to wince and his ear twitch.

Shifu immediately retreated back into his room, bringing Dié with him. Po took the gesture as his signal to leave, but before he did, called quietly to the red panda; "She was in the kitchen. She remade the fortress and was hiding in it because she's terrified of the storm and she thinks there's a monster in the palace, but she didn't want to wake you. She managed to find the key and open the doors."

Shifu was silent, then replied sincerely. "Thank you, Po." The panda smiled slightly, blowing Dié a kiss, before returning to his room.

Junjie sat up, rubbing his eyes in a tired manner and sighing.

"What did Po wa-" He stopped short when he saw Dié, and leapt out of bed, scurrying over to the two. Shifu passed her to him, and Junjie nuzzled his daughter, kissing her forehead.

"What happened sweetie?" She sniffled into his chest, and he scratched behind her ears, a gesture which they had discovered she loved.

"I-I had a n-nightmare, and the s-storm is s-sc-cary, a-and there's a m-monster c-coming to g-get u-us!" she wailed, and the fox looked at Shifu, who shrugged helplessly.

"There's no such thing as monsters baby girl: and even if there was, they would never get you whilst we're here." Junjie sat back down on his side of the bed, the left, whilst Shifu sat on his, the right.

Junjie gently lay Dié between them, and the two of them snuggled down beside her, completely uncaring as to whether she was soaked or not. Shifu pulled the covers over them, after Junjie had tucked an extra blanket over her.

"Really Baba?"

"Of course. And as for the storm...the thunder is just the gods and goddesses moving their furniture around."

"I-it is?"

"Hmm-hmm."

"W-what about the lightning?"

"They're testing their lights, to check whether they work or not."

"And the rain?"

"The gods are crying because they can't decide where to put their furniture." Dié giggled at that, and Shifu bit his lip to stop himself from laughing.

"But...in my nightmare...you were eaten by t-the m-monster, and so was Mama, a-and-" Tears threatened to spill again.

"Honey...we're never going to go anywhere. We'll always be there for you. Always," Shifu reassured, stroking her cheek.

"P-promise?" He caught Junjie's eyes for a split second, then looked back into his daughter's identical ones.

"We promise."

* * *

And when the gong sounded in the morning, not a soul did stir.

* * *

First of all...I apologise for the complete and utter OOCness of basically everyone..My excuse is that this is a 'What if?' kind of story, so Shifu never lost Tai Lung (who is still at the Palace by the way) and the current Furious Five has never been formed (Don't kill me...) and Junjie never turned against Shifu/Chao...etc Therefore, everyone's happy :)

Second of all, this this is kinda like an alternate time line thing to Timbit the LynxAngel's Heart of the Golden Lotus. He is awesome. :D Go read his stories now.

Thank you for anyone who is still reading this xD


	2. Void of Innocence

Oneshot 2: Void of Innocence

**A/N The first sentence explains it all.**

"Daddy...where do babies come from?"

Shifu nor Junjie ever thought they'd hear those words leave their daughter's lips, especially not at the age of six, and, unfortunately, neither were prepared for the question.

They had been afraid that she would want to know how she was...'created' at some point, but never expected that she want to know so soon, or just casually ask them for that matter.

"W-what?" Shifu asked, somewhat fearfully.

"Where do babies come from?" she repeated, tilting her head. "I've done some thinking, and I've decided that it's impossible for a baby to just come out of nowhere when someone wants one- then there would be no orphans or unwanted children. And...why does everyone else have a mummy and a daddy, but I have two daddies?"

Sometimes they cursed the fact that their child was so intelligent.

"W-well, dear...when a mummy and a daddy love each other very much-" Shifu was suddenly silenced by Junjie, who had tackled the red panda to the ground.

"Don't tell her anything!" he hissed. "She doesn't need to know, and I never expect to recieve any grandchildren!"

Shifu rolled his eyes at his husband, shoving him off, and stood up, brushing himself down. He glanced to his daughter again, and sighed, before lifting her up into his arms. He held her on his hip, and turned to face Junjie, who had long since gotten up off the floor.

"Dié...you have two daddies because Baba and I fell in love. Most men fall in love with women, but we fell in love with each other, even though we're both men. And you know that Baba and I love you very much, don't you?"

"...Yes Mama," she replied, nuzzling into Shifu's cheek. Junjie nodded in agreement, approaching the two and ruffling the fur on Dié's head.

"But people at school...they...tease me...and they say that I'm only an accident...That I was never meant to happen, and that I should just die because I'm unnatural..." Tears began to trickle down her face, and Shifu and Junjie were left in an appalled silence.

"T-There are no accidents..." Shifu whispered to her. "And even if there were...you would CERTAINLY not be one of them. Don't you EVER let ANYONE tell you anything like that again, do you understand?" The red panda's blood started to boil, and his grip on his daughter suddenly got a lot tighter.

"Yes Mama."

"Because you are the most amazing thing to ever happen to us Dié. You're a miracle. And we love you more than anything. Are we clear?"

"Yes Mama."

"And if ANYONE EVER says anything like that to you again, give them an nice round-house kick to the head. Do that for me, won't you?"

"Yes Baba."

"Junjie!"

"What?"

"Don't encourage her to do that!"

"Fine, fine...but those horrible...brats deserve it."

"I never said they didn't."

"So...I shouldn't kick them in the head if they're mean to me?"

"No dear."

"Okay. I guess that would be mean too, and I don't want to stoop to their level."

"Haha, see that Junjie? Our daughter's wiser than you!"

"Shut up Shifu."

"But Dié...promise you will never act on any of the things they say. Promise?"

"What do you mean Mama?"

"...You'll understand when you're older. Now come on, I think Po's making lunch."

"Yay!" Shifu raised his eyebrows at Junjie, whilst Dié made a failed attempt to stifle her giggles.

"What? I like food! Especially Po's food!" the fox stated defensively.

"Me too!" Dié highfived the paw that Junjie offered. Shifu only facepalmed.

"Since when did I become a single parent with TWO children?"

As everyone happily tucked into their meal, Dié paused. "Mama...you or Baba never did answer my question. Where DO babies come from?"

Po and Tai Lung choked on their food. Junjie broke his chopsticks. Shifu only sighed.

"Oh bother." He could almost hear Master Oogway's chuckle.

"Well..."

Shifu stopped, glancing at his daughter's ashen face. The poor child looked traumatized. Not that Po or Tai Lung appeared any better. Junjie stared at his plate, before also glancing at Dié's reaction.

"I wish I hadn't asked," she squeaked.

"So do I!" Po gagged.

"I'm sorry honey. You did want to know..."

Junjie glared at Shifu. "I TOLD you not to tell her! She's six years old for gods' sake! SHE COULD GET IDEAS!" Shifu looked at him blankly.

"Don't worry," Dié said shakily. "You guys won't be getting any grandchildren from me. Ever."

Shifu looked upset at this reassurance. Junjie looked thrilled.

"Wait...if that's how a baby is made then...how was I born?"

"I'm leaving!" Po abruptly pushed out his chair and left the room, closely followed by Tai Lung. The snow leopard smirked slightly on the way past Shifu, whose skin had gone about 3 shades whiter.

"Have fun."


	3. Fire

Oneshot 3: Fire

Dié: Aged 13

"I said NO! That is NOT happening!"

"But Daddy-"

"Don't you 'Daddy' me young lady! The answer is no, and that's the end of it!"

"Come on! Can't I just-"

"Don't argue with me! Now get back to your training!" She growled in frustration, shooting him a steely glare before flouncing off (presumingly to the Training Hall) and slamming the door behind her.

Junjie snarled, and promptly lashed out at a cuboard door, punching a hole through it in his anger. He grunted, pinching the bridge of his nose, and sighed, collapsing heavily onto one of the chairs surrounding the table. Shifu lay a paw on his shoulder, then slowly wrapped his arms around him from behind, nuzzling into his cheek.

"Are you alright, love?"

"She's...She's being so..."

"I know."

"Easy for you to say, you're not the bad guy." The fox rested his elbows on the table and buried his head in his paws, before rubbing his temples in an agitated manner.

"And YOU'RE not the 'bad guy'. She understands that you are only trying to protect her-"

"I don't think she does, Shifu. She probably just thinks I'm trying to prevent her from having fun."

"Junjie, dear, she's at that age...hormones flying everywhere...a general hatred for everyone and everything...It's likely that we were worse at this stage."

"I think not!"

The red panda chuckled. "You must have been too focused on our relationship to notice..." Shifu pressed a kiss to Junjie's cheek, which was now burning a bright pink.

Shifu sighed. "I think...I think you should just let her go..."

"What?!" Junjie stood up suddenly, and Shifu winced at the scraping noise of the protesting chair against the floor. His arms fell to his sides.

"She is NOT going to that festival Shifu! It's too far away from here-do you KNOW what's happened in that city?!- and she needs to learn that she can't get whatever she wants just by batting those pretty little eyes of hers!" Shifu folded his arms over his chest, frowning at his husband as he seethed.

"You're being a tad dramatic about this Junjie."

"No I'm not!"

"Calm down! She works herself hard, I think she deserves a break."

Junjie scoffed. Shifu's ear flicked in irritation, and he grabbed the fox's wrist in a tight hold. Junjie made a futile attempt to pull free, but the red panda's grip was too strong.

"Listen Junjie," Shifu said forcefully. "I don't know why you're so determind to stop Dié from going to the Lantern Festival. Maybe it's some stupid attempt to prevent her from getting a boyfriend-" Junjie's eye twitched at the offending word, "-or you think she's incapable of defending herself against anything, but to ban her from going to the festival is just going too far. She needs to go out and see what real life is like."

"So she's not living in 'real life' right now?" Junjie demanded, finally tugging his wrist free.

"That's not what I meant-"

"Hell right it's what you meant!"

"Junjie-"

"Save it Shifu! You've always been the favourite parent, and I'm sick of you just letting her be reckless and do whatever the bloody hell she feels like doing! She needs some kind of discipline!"

"Good gods Junjie, it's not a competition! I only let her do what she wants because you never give her any freedom! She's always been a good child, she's always done what she's been told, and she probably feels trapped here. You're only going to push her away!"

The fox was silent, and Shifu suddenly regretted saying his words so bitterly. He made an attempt to put his paw on his shoulder, but Junjie shrugged away, and seemed to just fade out of the room. Soon Shifu was left standing by himself.

He sighed, clenching his flute in his paw, then wandered off to the Peach Tree to think.

"Okay Gary, all you gotta do is light the match and throw it over there, got it?" The disciple nodded, before following his leader's instructions somewhat blindly. He didn't bother to question Fung's orders anymore.

"Now remember, we don't wanna kill the kid, just create a distraction so we can grab her without bringing any attention to ourselves. We need to get her for Tong Fo so he can hold her for randsom: the Jade Palace'll sure pay a lot of money to get her back!" They all agreed.

Gahri made attempts to set matches alight, without success. Eventually, Fung snatched the box off him and swiftly skimmed the match along the side. It caught fire.

"You see Guy? That's how you- OW!" The match leapt from Fung's hands as he dropped it, and the thug whimpered, sucking on his burnt claw. The other crocodiles only watched as fire sprang up from the ground, licking the grass and snaking up the walls of the barracks.

"Uh...Fung?"

"Ow...hot!"

"Fung."

"That was really sore!"

"Fung!"

"What?!" All Gahri did was point as the barracks was engulfed in flames. Sparks shot at them like bullets, hissing menacingly.

There was a pause.

"ABORT MISSION, ABORT MISSION!" There was no need to tell them twice. The bandits sprinted in all directions, some running into each other in their haste, whilst others simply tumbled down the steps, screaming.

"MASTER JUNJIE!" Junjie poked his head out from behind the doors of the training hall, startled.

"Why must you make so much racket Zheng?" he inquired, annoyed. The frantic goose simply grabbed his paw, dragging him down the steps. Junjie struggled against his grip, to no avail.

"Zheng, LET GO!"

"The barracks! The barracks are ON FIRE!"

"WHAT?! Who started it?!"

"We don't know! Just come with me!" Junjie obliged, hurrying after the messager.

The pair suddenly arrived at the burning building, and Junjie gaped at the sight. Members of the palace staff were trying to tame the flames with buckets of water, only to fail miserably. Shifu was being restrained by several people as he tried to dive into the fire, yelling as loudly as his lungs would allow.

"Shifu! WHAT are you-?!"

"We have to find a way in!" Junjie looked at Shifu as though he had grown two heads.

"Are you mad?! Whatever for?!"

"You don't understand!"

"What don't I understand?!"

"Dié is still in there!"

The words sunk in.

"WHAT?! NO!" The fox yanked his paws free of Zheng's grip, heading straight for the blaze. Many tried to stop him, but their attempts were pointless.

"DIÉ!" He flipped through a narrow gap in the flames, singeing his fur in the process, but he ignored it. He glanced around anxiously, immediately sinking to his paws and knees.

The barracks were in complete chaos. The entire building was filled with depressed clouds of smoke drifting around the ceiling, and fire flared everywhere else, almost scalding him.

"Dié?!" Junjie rolled to the side, just avoiding a piece of debris as it collapsed on the spot he had just been in, blocking his exit. He swore loudly, pushing forward and ducking under burning logs.

"DIÉ?!" He struggled to distinguish whose room was whose, but eventually crawled into the one to his left.

"DIÈ, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" He began choking on his words, his desperation increasing by the second. He covered his mouth with his sleeve, coughing hoarsely into it.

"DIÉ?!" Junjie suddenly looked up through his streaming eyes as one of the beams of the ceiling started to creak. He braced himself, until he felt a violent shove to his back, sending him sprawling across the floor just as the beam came crashing down. The figure went skidding as well, landing about an arms length away from him. They were still.

Junjie dragged himself along the floor to the body and nudged it with his nose. The haze made it difficult to see, but he couldn't mistake the person.

"Dié...no..." he groaned, gathering her up into his arms and shaking her roughly.

"I...I'm...sorry...Dad..." Her eyes cracked open slightly, mirroring his own. She reached up to touch his face.

"Don't..." he pleaded painfully, taking her paw in his and pressing it to his cheek. "This is all my fault...I'm so sorry Dié..." A single tear trickled down his cheek, and he bowed his head, nuzzling into her paw where it was clasped in his.

"Hey...Don't blame yourself..." She gave a crooked smile, before falling into a coughing fit. Her hand released his, her body curling as she gasped for breath.

"We have to get you out of here!" Junjie rapidly scanned for an exit, growing more panic-stricken as his vision began to fade.

"No Daddy...you have...to get out..."

"Not without you."

"Please...just go...don't leave Mama by himself...he couldn't...live without you..." Those words hit him hard, and a new wave of pure determination settled over him.

"He couldn't live without you either...I...can't live without you." Despite her protests, Junjie began to haul her along behind him as he headed for the door.

"Dad...s-stop..."

"No! I'm not leaving you!" Her body started slacking, becoming harder for Junjie to trail along behind him.

"Come on Dié...don't start being difficult now..." There was no response, nor any resistance. Junjie whipped his head around, only to find that Dié wasn't moving at all. He swore.

Junjie drew her nearer to him, sweeping her up into his arms, before clambering to his feet and running in the direction of the spare door at the back of the barracks, swerving around any obstacles.

"Stay with me Dié, stay with me..." he muttered. It felt like a race, adrenaline coursing through him as he ran faster and faster and gasped for breath. The fox grunted as a flame daubed his shoulder, agony searing through his limb.

He hissed, tightening his grip on Dié's motionless body. "Dié...Dié please..."

He avaded the embers and flames, aiming for his only escape. The only thought clouding his mind was to get his daughter out, and he hugged her to his chest protectively, pushing himself harder than he ever had before. He couldn't feel her breathing, and that worried him more than even the fire did.

He was so close to the exit, but the victory was short lived as debris timbered to cover the door. Yet Junjie continued to run at it, and at the very last second toppled to his side, skidding right under the falling carnage and out the back door. He had never felt so glad to feel the earth beneath his body. However, he felt the absence of Dié's being beside him. He grappled weakly, prying his eyes open to scan his surroundings for her.

And there he saw her, lying dormant a few metres away from him. Her body looked broken. He tried to move to reach her, but he felt suffocated and his body refused to cooperate any longer.

By this time, a swarm of people had come around the back of the destroyed building. Junjie sensed himself being moved, and a paw grip his own.

No. NO. Not Dié. No! NO!

Junjie woke with a start, panting heavily. He didn't recognise his surroundings, and suddenly felt a surge of panic as he remembered everything that had occured,

"How are you feeling love?" Surprised, Junjie sat up and found Shifu sitting on the edge of his bed, stroking the fox's paw with his thumb. He had been unaware of just how comforting the gesture was until that moment.

"Dié...Dié, where is she?" He made an attempt to swing his legs out of bed, only to be pushed back down by the red panda, who was wearing a stern expression.

"You need to rest, Junjie," he stated firmly. Junjie's eye twitched in annoyance.

"Okay, okay fine, whatever. Just tell me what happened to her." Shifu sighed, his ears arching back in his unhappiness. Junjie automatically assumed the worst.

"No...please tell me our daughter is alive," he whispered, pleading. Shifu looked at him sadly.

"Barely. The doctor says she'll be fine in a while, but... She suffered serious burn injuries and was starved of air for an extended period of time. She also managed to hurt her right arm, Dié being Dié. The doctor's unsure of whether it's broken or not..." Shifu sighed again, staring at his lap. "When they found her she wasn't breathing...they said she wouldn't have lived had you not gotten her out when you

did...You saved her life." His voice trembled, and the only thing the red fox did was pull his lover into his arms, rubbing his back soothingly as the red panda began to sob quietly into his shoulder.

Junjie nuzzled him, hushing his husband as tears started trickling down his own face.

"Can I see her?" Shifu nodded, composing himself.

"We can bring her to you. The doctor said you're not supposed to leave this room."

"But surely she's more injured than me-" the fox protested.

"Fortunately enough for her, she managed to inherit her father's charm, and somehow convinced the doctor to let her roam around the place." Junjie smirked. Despite his curiosity as to where they actually were, he decided he would discard the questions until later.

At that moment, Po appeared, shadowed by Tai Lung. The two had grave looks on their faces, and Po's expession especially looked foreign on his features.

"Masters," they chimed softly in unison, bowing to the two. Junjie and Shifu returned the gesture.

"A certain someone wanted to see you." Po smiled gently, assisting a limping Dié into the room, whose right arm was wrapped in a sling. Shifu immediately went to help (after shoving Junjie backwards as he had attempted to rise to help too), and apon sight of her mother, Dié threw herself into his arms. He picked her up, it still amazed him as to how light she was, and carried her over to the bed.

Junjie didn't wait for Shifu to set her down. He held out his arms, pulling his daughter onto his lap and cradling her to his chest.

"My little girl...my little baby..." he murmered, the tears starting to flow more freely down his face.

"Don't cry Daddy. You'll make me cry too," Dié sniffled, snuggling deeper into his chest as she started to sob.

"I-we- almost lost you..." Junjie wept. "I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if...if you..."

"But Daddy...you saved my life...you're my hero." She threw her arm around his neck and buried her head into his shoulder, making Junjie's heart swell and break in two all at once. He embraced her, minding her injured limb, and he could feel how weak and delicate her body really was. She felt so fragile that he thought he'd shatter her if he hugged her too tightly.

"And you said I was the favourite parent," Shifu called jokingly, tears running down his own face. Junjie didn't respond, apart from holding an arm out. Shifu obliged, stepping into the hug. The three just held each other, glad that they were all a family again.

"Just...never, EVER scare us like that again. Promise?"

"I promise Mama...So Dad...about that festival..."


End file.
